Salary, Emoluments and Impeachment of President of India
President in Office: Conditions
Article 59 lays down certain conditions of the office of the president. These are summarized as below:
- President is not a member of any house of the parliament or any state legislature
- If he/ she is a member of any house, he / she shall have to vacate the seat in those house.
- He / she should not hold any office of profit.
Salary and Emoluments:
The president of India is entitled to rent free accommodation, allowances and privileges as determined by the parliament by law. Thus salary of the President is decided by Parliament. The salary and allowances of the president are charged from Consolidated Fund of India. The original constitution provided ` 10,000 per month for president. In 1998 it was raised to ` 50,000. In 2008 the salary was raised to ` 1.5 Lakh per month.
Impeachment
Article 61 outlines the impeachment of the president of India. We should note that no president of India has been impeached so far.
- The charge of violation can be preferred by any house of the parliament before other house.
- To start the proceedings 14 days notice is given
- This notice must be signed by minimum 25% (1/4th) of the total number of members.
- The resolution must be passed by 2/3rd of both the houses.
- After resolution is passed president is removed.
- During the process president has right to defend himself / herself.
Vacancy in Office of the President:
The election to fill a vacancy arising out of expiration of the term of president must be completed before expiration of his / her term. If there is a delay, the president continues to hold the office, until his / her successor takes charge. If any vacancy arises out of death/ resignation / removal, it must be filled within 6 months. During the vacancy in the office of president, Vice president would be discharging the duties of a president. If Vice President is also NOT available, Chief Justice of India will discharge the function of the president. If Chief Justice of India is also unavailable, then senior most judge of the Supreme Court will discharge this function. Any person (vice president / chief justice of India/ senior most Judge of Supreme Court) while discharging the duties of the president shall be entitled to all powers and privileges of the president.
